Yvonne McBlain from Falkirk’s Curriculum Support team has now created a page for each of our Teaching for Deep Learning sessions here in Glow. Five of our secondary schools have used, or are beginning to use these sessions as content for their Teacher Learning Communities and working groups. Nineteen of our primary schools have already accessed at least one of the sessions – sometimes as a whole staff, and other times within smaller collegiate groups. We have 18 TfDL (Teaching for Deep Learning) facilitators who are being trained to deliver the sessions – some want to do this in their own schools only, whereas others are happy to make themselves available across the authority where needed. Four of our secondary schools are modelling a whole range of Donaldson Review recommendations regarding professional learning in their use of the programme. Most have recruited teachers interested in becoming facilitators within their schools, who then attend an information session (Click to view) on the programme from Yvonne. Each school is then deciding how they can enable staff to identify which sessions should be priorities for their professional learning this session. Once these decisions are made, teacher learning communities interested in the same sessions can be formed. The same model of distributed leadership (facilitators) and professional autonomy through self-evaluation is being taken forward by some of our primary schools “in house” too. Feedback from participants of sessions so far confirms the value of the programme as one of the ways in which we can move Falkirk schools from Good to Great.
Year: 2013
Introduction to the Storyline Approach
On 12th September 2013, Yvonne McBlain of Falkirk’s Curriculum Support Team delivered introductory training on the use of the Storyline Approach. The practitioners attending the training listened to a short presentation setting out the philosophy and structure of storyline methodology, but the bulk of the twilight session was about actually “doing” storyline. This involved them creating a setting for their storyline – in this case a new community (see below) called Camelon Court . They then worked collaboratively to create 3 families for this new community. As usual in storyline, the creation of these characters was enjoyable, engaging, and the resulting verbal introductions to the families was entertaining too. Click here to see the biography format used by the groups to create these families. Already we can see potential relationships and narratives emerging! Look out for part two next week!
You may want to explore more Falkirk storyline work in our Storyline Glow group, or see what is happening nationally and internationally with the Storyline approach at http://www.storyline-scotland.com/
Active Literacy Workshop for Parents and Carers
Sharon Wallace, Curriculum Support Officer of the Curriculum Support Team has developed some helpful materials to support Falkirk establishments in sharing the learning at home. This active literacy workshop provides parents, carers and extended families with an overview of the active literacy strategies and methodologies from P1 to P7. It looks at the areas of spelling and phonics, reading and writing and how children can be supported with these at home.
Parents and carers are also invited to be ‘reciprocally taught’ by their children in a series of different workshop activities which include:
- phoneme stories
- Elkonin boxes
- rainbow writing
- spell-er-cise
- diacritical marking
- fun spelling tasks
So far this session, the following schools have already hosted workshops:
- Maddiston Primary
- Shieldhill Primary
- Kinneil Primary
These workshops are accompanied by parental leaflets aimed at P1-3, P4-5 and P6-7 parents.
For more information, please contact Sharon Wallace.
Active Numeracy Workshop Materials for Parents and Carers
Sharon Wallace, Curriculum Support Officer, Curriculum Support Team, has been working on materials aimed at sharing active learning methodologies with parents and carers. The workshop aims to share some of the strategies relating to mathematics, in particular mental strategies with people at home.
It also includes suggested websites which are helpful in developing mental mathematical skills e.g. www.sumdog.com and www.mangahigh.com
Workshop activities include:
- recalling facts
- applying facts
- the use of open questions
- addition, subtraction, multiplication and division
- numbers in society
Active numeracy parent presentation 2013 can be accessed from this link.
Thoughts turn to next year’s Enterprise Awards
Planning begins for the next round of Enterprise in Education Awards.
Lynne Lauder, Enterprise Co-ordinator, Curriculum Support Team will once again co-ordinate the Enterprise in Education Awards event which will be held on 12th June 2014.
To support schools in planning their submissions, an informal information event will be held at Camelon Education Centre at 3:30pm on 1st October 2013. The session will highlight the essential elements of a successful submission and provide some hints and tips on how to ease the submission process. To book a place at the session contact Lynne by email on lynne.lauder@falkirk.gov.uk or telephone on 01324 501975.
Sharing Active Literacy with Parents/ Carers
Sharon Wallace and Stuart Lennie, Curriculum Support Officers from the Curriculum Support Team, have been working together on a short active literacy animation. The aim of this short film is to share the terminology relating to active literacy to a wider audience, including parents and carers. This animation can be accessed through Falkirk Council’s You Tube channel and schools are also using it as part of Active Literacy workshops.
The voiceover is that of Maddiston P6 pupil Elliot who did a super job explaining the active literacy terminology.
Active Literacy Animation for Parents and Carers
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/TnXMSAcKcCo" width="425" height="344" allowfullscreen="true" fvars="fs=1" /]
Satisfying the yearning for mobile learning!
Stuart Lennie and Malcolm Wilson of the Falkirk Council Education Services Curriculum Support team have been working to create a Mobile Devices in Falkirk Education Blog.
The blog is designed to support Falkirk Council education establishments in their use of mobile devices in learning and teaching.
Beginning from September 2013, this site will develop to have further materials as work develops in establishments.
Click here to visit the blog: https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/fa/mobiledevices/
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/LkiRWTJYPS0" width="425" height="344" allowfullscreen="true" fvars="fs=1" /]
Westquarter Primary School – Better Movers, Better Thinkers
Karen Thomson, Morag Simpson and Morag Young, Physical Education Lead Officers, Falkirk Council Curriculum Support Team visited Wesquarter Primary School for some Better Movers, Better Thinkers Sessions on Friday 30th August 2013.
Better Movers and Thinkers (BMT) is an innovative, exciting and challenging movement and learning programme for Physical Education, that focuses directly on enhancing links between movement and thinking, and how these critical elements scaffold the development of physical performance and learning across the curriculum.
Parents were invited in during family time and joined in with an introductory session of BMT. The turnout of parents was exceptional – well done to everyone who turned up and took part. Westquarter staff are keen to incorporate this strategy into their Physical Education lessons. A follow up session with staff is planned for 13th Setember 2013.
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/kt3t5luimwc" width="425" height="344" allowfullscreen="true" fvars="fs=1" /]
Glenbervie Kindergarden – Outdoor Learning
Karen Thomson, Senior Early Years Offcier, Falkirk Council Curriculum Supoprt Team has been supporting 
Glenbervie Kindergarden who are the latest private partner nursery to start using NHS Larbert Woods on a regular basis. Following a parent session on 14th August children aged 3 and 4 are now accessing the site weekly. The children walk from the nursery and stay on site for approximately 2 hours before begnning their walk home. Staff were amazed how well the children have managed this and noticed an increase in their stamina and energy even at the end of a busy session.
During the session on 21st August the children explored the environment and found some very interesting features to play – especially a large puddle.
The staff are also listening to the children’s interestes and some of the children found a hole which they believed to be a fox hole. A conversation about other nocturnal animals then evolved with all children taking part – this is now something that the nursery can take forward as a topic and be able to make it relevant for the children because of their visit to the woods.
All children had great fun – although I am sure the washing machine might have been pushed to the limits!
